Earth drills



Jan. 27, 1959 I H. l. LARSON 2,370,991

' EARTH DRILLS Filed Oct. 50, 1950 6 Sheets-Sheet 1 INVENTOR.

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EARTH DRILLS Filed Oct. 30, 1950 e Sheets-Shet 4 uvmvroa HHARY J. lam-sow Jan. 27, 1959 H. l. LARSON EARTH DRILLS Filed Oct. 30, 1950 K 6 Shee'hs-Sheet 6 1gp 1 Z1 9. f3 6y JJ W V I m 60 H H L65 fi kfi y I: 111111;. 1 #A/( 2 :134! 4 I 11 E l H Vf fl N l f 1 I i 1Q IN V EN TOR.

Harry .7. $622-$022 azg EARTH DRILLS Harry I. Larson, Chicago, 111., assignor of one-half to John Carlson, Chicago, Ill. Application October 30,1950, Serial No. 192,933

4 Claims. 01. 2ss-22 or expanded bases.

One object of my invention is the provision of a drill having positive controlof the hole-enlarging or side cutting blades, both for expanding or moving them outwardly into cutting position and for retracting said blades into non-operating position, that is, into the peripheral contour of the bodyor cage portion at the lowerend of the drill, and to hold the drilled or loose earth while the drill is elevated for discharging the loose earth; the positive control of the side cutting blades enabling the operator to provide the drilled hole with a bottom fiber or enlargement of greater diameter.

Another object of the invention is to provide a power driven drill wherein all ofits operations are mechanically performed. f

The aforementioned objects and others, as well as .the advantages inherent in the invention will all be readily comprehended from the following detailed description of the accompanying drawings, wherein:

, Fig. 1 is a side elevational view of my improved drill with a control rod brokenaway:

Fig. 2 is a cross-sectional view taken on the line 2.2

of Fig. 1, looking downward; i t

Fig. 3 is a fragmentary elevational view (on a slightly larger scale) of the upper part of the drill as viewed from the right side of Fig. 1;

, .tom thereofenlarged upon expanding the movable side cutters; i t t Fig. 6-A is a sectional view of a bored hole of continuous diameter from top to bottom made with the side cuttersexpanded; i i i t Fig. 7 is a plan sectional view of the control unit taken on line 7--7ofFig.1;

Fig. 8 is .a cross-sectional view through the control unit taken, generally on the line 88 of Fig. 7;

Fig. 9 is a diagrammatic sectional viewfof part of the driving mechanism, taken on the line 9--9 of Fig. 8;

Fig. 9A is a diagrammatic sectional View lot another line 9A-9A of Fig. 7; 1

Fig. 10 is a diagrammatic front elevational view of part Fig.,11 is a fragmentary side elevational .view in a changed position substantially similar to a.portion of Fig. 1, with the auger-shaftclutchin "openposition, with United States PatentO "ice portionsof the supporting frame, rack bars, operating shafts and power unit broken away,and the drill mechanism shown in lowered position;

" Fig. 12 is a fragmentary front elevational view of a portion of the drill with the clutch at the upper ends of the two operating shafts closed, with intermediate portions of the frame and said shafts broken away; with the power unit, the auger portions at the lower ends of the shafts omitted, and the bearings for the auger shaftin the frames shown in section; i

Fig. 13 is an enlarged sectional view .taken on line 13 13 of Fig. 12 looking upwardly; and

Fig. 14 is a fragmentary vertical sectional view taken on the lines 14-14 of Fig. 12.

In the embodiment shown; the drill which is of a portable nature, may be mounted on a truck or tractor 10, and comprises a vertical frame composed of the channel-shaped uprights 15 mounted on a base 16. The uprights 15 are connected across the top of the same by a connecting plate 15a. The base 16 supports a control unit 17 provided with a conventional gear transmission and a power unit 17a. Arranged within the vertical frame formed by the uprights 15 is a vertically movable tured and provided with suitable bearings to support a cage or frame composed of gear and shaft supporting cross-members or gear and shaft supporting platforms 18 and 19 arranged in vertical spaced relation and conwhich slidably engage in channels of the upright frame members 15 and support the frame or cage against lateral movement. Members 18 and 19 are supported by the platform '80 'whichalso supports the drill shafts,jthe power transmitting elements and certain control mechanisms later described. The platforms or cross members 18 and 19, as well as platform 80, may be of rectangular form, with the member 80 somewhat larger than members 18 and 19, the shoes 81 being connected to the outer ends of the same.

The base 16, platform 80 and platform 18 are apervertically disposed upright hollow auger shaft 20. The

auger shaft 20, square in cross-section, is. adapted to be rotated by a suitable source of power such as the power unit 17a which drives the same through the gear transtransmission 17, the crown gear 35 having a square bore part of the driving mechanism taken generally on the through which shaft 20 slidably extends. The shaft 20 extends up through a suitable opening in the platform where a hub gear 39 is mounted, the hub gear being the lower member of a clutch, and is secured to the topof shaft 20. The hub gear 39 is mounted on top of the platform 80 and lies in an opening in the platform 13 (see Figs. 13 and 14). t

The shaft 20 is provided at its lower endwith a skeleton cutter head consisting of the hub portion 21 which is provided with downwardly sloping and diverging arm members 22. The arm members 22 are connected at their lower ends by a bottom plate 23. The arms 22 are circumferentially spaced to provide side openings in the drillhhead, as best shownin Fig. 1, for ingress of loosened eart The bases of the arms 22 are enlarged and cut out intermediate their upper and lower ends to form a pair of cars 24 which are vertically spacedto receive the extensions 25 at the pivoted ends of the side cutter blades 26. The ears 24 and the extensions 25 are provided with registering openings to receive pivot pins 27 whereby the side cutters are pivotally secured in place and permit the free ends of the cutters 26 to swing horizontally outwardly, as shown in Fig. 5. v

In this position the cutting edges "of the cutters26 are presented forwardly when the cutter head rotated in a clockwise direction. The forward edges "of the cutters 26 may be provided with removable-tempered steel blades or the entire cutter 26 may be inade o'f suitable tempered steel. I h I A rotatable shaft 28 is located within the hollow shaft 20and extends through the upper end of shaft 26 and through the lower end of shaft ZiB, the upper end having 1 a face gear 62 connected thereto and positioned above platform 19. Thelower end ."of shaft 28 extends to the, base plate 23 of the cutter unit.

The shaft 28 is praeiuedn ar its lower end with a spider-like collar 29, see Figs. 4 andS, which has three radially disposedarmsw2r9a to which arcuate links 30 are pivotally connected at'31. The outer ends of the links 30 are pivotally connected at 32to' the concave sides of the cutters 26, preferably intermediate their ends as shown, to enable proper control of the cutters and suitable folding of the links and cutters whenthe latter are in retracted position, as shown in Fig. 4. In this position they. are folded to lie within theperimeter or contour V of the cutting head, as when the latter is boring the upper main cylindricalportion Illa of the hole 1% shown in Fig. 6, or' when the cutter head is being withdrawn from thehole.

The cutters 26 may be of any convenient size and number andpreferably made arcuate as shown in Fig. 5 so as to direct the loose material or earth into-the cutter head; the l'cutters 26, in:conjunctiodwith base plate 23, constituting, a receptacle whereby the out earth is removed-from the bore upon .elevatingthe cutter headto the surface.

.The bottom of the cutter head is centrally provided with an anchoring and-centering auger 56; and-the-bot- .tOm of the cutterhead is also provided with'side cutters 59 and a suitable number of downwardly extending cutters 57, preferably with a transverse curvature and made of suitable hardened metal to enable the drill to cu-t into shales and soft'stone, The base plate23 at points coincident with the forward sides of the cutters 57 is provided with radially arranged openings as indicated at 58- in Fig. 5.

Thelower end of the cutter shaft 20 immediately above the cutter head is supported by a bearing yoke 33'(see Fig. 12), which in turn is secured by bolts 34p to the lower ends of vertically disposed andmovable rack =bars 34. The rackubarsfieare adaptedtosl-idably extend through and beneath the base lo of -the drill frame. 7 The upper ends o-fibars 34 are;rigidly-;seeured to-theplatform member 80, which also supports the;,cage or open-sided housing. v

The platforms 80; 18 and 19iat-the-upper end-0f the "drill frame l5' are all connected together to-mo-ve up Rotation of the shaft 28 is induced by thehollow drill shaft 20 through the medium of clutchmechanism generally indicated at 38. Theclutch mechanism comprises a lower annular member 39-whoseupper surface has a plurality of circumferentiallyarranged sockets or openings 47. The member 39 lies in a'hole or s'ocket in platform 18 and has a toothed hub 44a at its bottom, the member 39 being supported in a suitable opening in the cross-member St). The member-39 is ffastenedto the upper end of thedrillshaft 20.

' The upper member 38a of the clutch is slidably mounted on the upper. end of shaft 28 by ;spl;ines,2 8aFig. 14)

so as to rotate, therewith. The lower, end of member 33a ispro vided with-a depending pin 48 *adaptedtocngage in one of-the openings 47 in the mem ber-39 when the upper member 38a is lowered, causing the upper clutch member 38a to rotate with the shaft 20. Lifting of the upper clutch member 33a is accomplished by a cam 40 which is secured to a sleeve 41, the sleeve being supported on the platform 18 and being secured to the upper end of a stub shaft 42 mounted on the supporting platform 82.

The stub shaft 42 is provided with a sliding collar 43 which has a gear 51 connected "thereto. "I also provide a manually operated lever 45 which is adapted to raise the collar 43 to cause gear 51 to mesh with an idler gear 44 mounted on astub shaft 440 in a bracket 441) (see Fig. 13), that is-fastened to the lower side of platform 18. As gear 44a is rotated by shaft 20, and gear 51 is placed in mesh with gear 44, sleeve 41 will rotate and turn the lug 40 and also a radial lug 52 at "the'upperend'of the sleeve 41. Lug 40 will-raise member 38a into the position shown-in'Fig. l, disengaging the pin48 from 'a notch 47 in the lower clutch member 39,"'while lug 52 will engage a tootho-f the gear53 and through splines 28a partially rotatethe shaft-28 to.

expand cutters 26 to open position.

The operation ofthe lever45 is'c'ontrolled from the base of the ,drill by pulling upon the control rod 46. The

operation just-described must peridiocally be repeated "as the bore or circumference ofthe hole-*being'dug is increased and'further opening ofthe blades is necessary to reach the'size opening that [is desired. When the lever 45 is released, the spring S (see Fig. 3) will pull up'on pivoted lever. 45 and lower-geafiSl from'cngage- 'op'erative position into 'the peripheral contour ofthe body [or cage portion, and'to hold the loose-earth wliilethe "drill is elevated for discharging the same, is'secur'ed' from the control unit 17. The drive for rotating shaft 20 is secured through shaft 66,"'w hich.has a face gear 69 that meshes with face gear'70 to drive shaft 68a. The shaft 68a has the bevel gear 36 keyed to the end .of the same, the bevel gear 36 meshing with the crown'gear '35. For increasing the speed of rotation of shaft 20 and crown gear 35, the shifter 17b is providedto move face gear 68 on shaft 68a into engagement with face gear 67 on shaft 66. The shifter 17]) can also 'be moved to neutral so no drive is provided to shaft20 through this drive.

a shifter lever 73b for a gear shifter 73a connected to the face gears 71a and 73c which are normally in nondriving position. In order to move the frame down, I

' shift the gear 730 to theright'to'meshwith-the driven gear 73 slidably keyed to shaft 6 6, and thus through shaft 72a, to which gears'73c'and71a are slidably keyed, a

driveis obtained to the gear train72. The gear train 72 through stub shafts 37a drives thegears' 37' -in*opposite directions'to move the'rack bars34 up and down.

To move the frame and associated parts up,'-I move the gear, shifter 73a to the left, moving the gear 71a on shaft 72a forward tomesh with the train of gears 71, including the idler gear 71b (see Fig; 9), so that the train of gears 72 'is then driven by the gear 71c keyed to ;the"shaft 66 This drives the gears 37 in the opposite 2 direction; The shifter 73acan also be moved to neutral.

The idler gear. 71b is supportedin a bearingW-ld susperided'ifrom the top of the housing of control u nit 17. Shaft"', whichis mounted atits upper end ina suitable hearing in connecting plate 15a of frame 15, drives the 'g e'ar s 61' and 62 at the upp'erendofthe frame." The 76 I provide a clutch 63b operated by the shifter lever 59, one part of the clutch 63b being connectedto the face gear 64 which is constantly driven by the face gear 65 on theshaft 66. The other part of the clutch 63b is connected to the collar portion which encloses the forks of the shifter 59, the forks being adapted to move the left portion 63b of the clutch to the right, Fig. 7, to engage the clutch, the same sliding in a keyway, not shown, on the shaft 63a. When the clutch parts are engaged, they will cause the shaft 63a torotate, and thegear 63 being fastened to the shaft by a set screw as shown (Fig. 7), will thus be rotated, rotating the other gear 63. It is thus clear that the bevel gears 63 are never disengaged, only the clutch parts 63b.

For continuous drilling of .a cylindrical hole as shown in Fig. 6-A, the operator pulls rod 50 which is connected to the tilting lever 49, causing disengagement between clutch members 38a and 39, thereby disrupting the operative relation between the shaft drillrod 28 and the outer shaft 20, at which time the side cutter blades 26 will remain in the closed position shown in Fig. 4.

When the side cutter blades are open, as shown in Fig. 5, and it is desired to close the same or retract them to the position shown in Fig. 4, clutch 63b of the transmission mechanism (see Fig. 7) is closed to transmit power from the drive shaft 66 to bevelgears 63, and hence to vertical shaft 60. The shaft60 has a gear 61 connected to the upper end of the same on top of platform 19. Shaft 60 has a key 61a throughout a portion of its length which engages a key-slot in gear 61 so the gear can move up and down with platform 19, but is always driven by shaft 60. The face gear 61 meshes with a gear 62 which is connected to the upper end of the drill shaft 28. The step'up gears 61 and 62 will increase the speed of shaft 28 to a higher R. P. M. than shaft 20, causing the spider 29 in the cutter head to pull the side blades to closed position through the medium of the arcuate arms 30. v t To open the cutter blades as for a dirt discharging operation whenthe cutter head 23 has been filled with loose dirt, the drill carrying frame is raised through the medium of the racks 34. The blades 26 and inner shaft 28 are placed out of operative relation to outer shaft 20 by actuation of lever 49, increasing the speed of rotation of shaft 20 as previously described, allowing centrifugal force to swing the blades 26 outwardly and thus cause the loose dirt to be thrown out.

As previously stated, any suitable number of movable cutter blades may be provided, which may be manipulated to provide a bore with enlarged portions, or if desired, to provide a large hole of continuous diameter from top to bottom, as shown in Fig. 6, by swinging the movable cutterblades outwardly a, distance in keeping with the diameter of hole desired. It is apparent that the same drill may be employed for drilling a hole with an enlarged base for increased bearing surfaces, or a hole with varying diameters of any size without changing the cutters, by locking the cutters in any position, thus provldmg holes for concrete footings or pillars with enlarged bases, concrete caissons, foundations for guy anchors, bridges, tank traps, defense buildings and like uses.

I have shown and described what I believe to be the best embodiment of my invention which has been described in terms of descriptionand not in terms of limitationyas structural modifications are possible and maybe made without departing from the spirit of my invention as defined in the appended claims. t

What I claim is:

1. In a drill of the type described having a base, an upright frame on said base, said frame comprising facing channel members, a plate connecting the upper ends of the same, power means and shiftable power transmitting gears mounted on said base, a drive shaft from said power means to said gears, a vertically movable frame mounted in the main frame, a pair of vertical racks forming part 6 of said movable frame, a horizontal platform on top of said movable frame, said platform having shoes engaging said channel members, a square hollow vertically disposed auger shaft supported on said platform and extending through an. opening in said base, a crown gear positioned on said base and having a square opening through which said auger shaft extends, a bevel gear connected to said power transmitting gears, a cutter head connected to the lower end of said shaft, said cutter head having laterally swinging side wall cutter blades, a second shaft rotatable within said auger shaft, said second shaft supported in said movable frame and extending down into said cutter head and having pivotal link connections with each side wall cutter blade for controlling the latter, a two-part clutch connected between the upper ends of the two shafts, the lower partof said clutch being fixedly secured to the auger shaft and having a pinion formed thereon, the upper part of said clutch being slidably feathered on the inner shaft whereby both shafts may' rotate together, said upper clutch part havinga pinion formed thereon, a rotatable stub shaft mounted in the upper part of the vertically movable frame adjacent the auger shaft and said two-part clutch, a sleeve mounted on said stub shaft, said sleeve having a cam at one end and a lug at the other end, a slidable collar mounted on said stub shaft, a gear fastened to said collar, a manually operable lever for raising said collar. and gear, an idler gear engaged by said gear on the collar when raised, said idler gear meshing with the pinionon said lower clutch part whereby said stub shaft and sleeve are rotated and said cam caused to disrupt the clutch connection be' tween the two first mentioned shafts while the latter are rotating at which time said lug, through the medium of the upper clutch part pinion. and. said feathered shaft connection, will advance said inner shaft a degree of rotation before the parts of said clutch again move into clutching position, whereby said swingable cutter blades are swung outwardly a predetermined degree, and pinion gears connected to said power transmitting gears, said pinion gears meshing with said racks for moving said movable frame up and down.

2. In a drill of the type described having a base, an upright frame on said base, said frame compriing facing channel members, a plateconnecting the upper ends of the same, power means and shiftable power transmitting gears mounted on said base, a drive shaft from said power means to said gears, a vertically movable frame mounted in the main frame, a pair of vertical racks forming part of said movable frame, a horizontal platform on top of said movable frame, said platform having shoes engaging said channel members, a square hollow vertically disposed auger shaft supported on said platform and extending through an opening in said base, a crown gear positioned on said base and having a square opening through which said auger shaft extends, a bevel gear connected to said power transmitting gears, a cutter head connected .to the lower end of said shaft, said cutter head having laterally swinging side wall cutter blades, a second shaft rotatable within said auger shaft, said second shaft sup ported in said movable frame and extending down into said cutter head and having pivotal link connections with each side wall cutter blade for controlling the latter, a two-part clutch having an upper and a lower part connected between the upper ends of the two shafts, the top of the lower part of said clutch having a radial row of openings therein, the botom of the upper part having a depending pin for engaging one of said, openings, the lower part of said clutch being fixedly secured to the auger shaft and having a pinion formed thereon, the upper part of said clutch being slidably feathered on the inner shaft whereby both shafts may rotate together, said upper clutch part having a pinion formed thereon, a rotatable stub shaft mounted in the upper part of the vertically movable frame adjacent the auger shaft and said two-part clutch, a sleeve mounted on said stub shaft, 

